Hello! This is just a little something that came to mind to me. Hope you like it.
I do not own Stephanie Plum or any of the characters associated with her. Nor do I make any moneys from the posting of this fanfiction.
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Chapter One
Maxine "Tracker" Soto got off of the airplane, hating the fact that she still had to use a cane to get from one point to another. The fact that she was leaning heavier on it just to get off the plane early wasn't lost on Tank, who just grinned at her as he walked over to her. The petite woman smiled as she went over to him and bumped fists with him before he took her carry on, the only bag she brought with her. The two made their way slowly over to the SUV that was waiting for them at the curb. This wasn't due to her leg so much as her lack of height.
They were five minutes out of the airport when she asked, "How's everyone?"
"Good," he said. "Ranger's glad that you're coming in to help out."
She studied him a moment. "He rarely asks for help and he's never said the word please to me. Not even in the bad old days did he ask that way. He sounded…" She thought it over. "Desperate."
"We all are," he said, sounding grim.
"How many days missing now?" she asked.
"Five days, nine hours, and twenty-seven minutes," he told her. "That was the last time anyone saw her. And with every minute that passes, we have less and less hope…"
"Could be she only did a runner and you guys don't know where to look," she told him. "Don't go all doom and gloom until it calls for it, Tank."
He nodded to that, but said nothing.
Maxine took a deep breath and geared herself up for the one question she needed to ask. "How's Lester?"
"A mess," he told her. "He's blaming himself for losing her that day."
"Given what you did tell me, I doubt it was his fault," she murmured. "You told me that she was the one to ditch her trackers and tags, right?"
"That I did," he said, sounding a bit pissed. "We explained to her that they could save her life and she still dumped them. That girl has the common sense of a flea."
"Fleas have more going for them than you think," she told him. "Why else do you think they've lasted this long?"
That had him grinning, but it never reached his eyes. If Tank was this bad, she was going to hate to see how the other guys were doing.
The rest of the ride went in silence, which was fine with her as she took the time to look over the papers that had been photographed and sent to her to study on her trip over from California. Most of the papers were worthless, they held no information that would help in finding her. The lack of anything like a receipt frustrated Maxine, but there was nothing to be done about that.
But then she saw it—a doodle in the corner of one of the papers. She increased the size of it on her tablet and looked at it. "Uh, Tank?"
"Yeah?"
"Could you possibly explain, 'Joe, Ranger, or Tasty Cakes'?"
"I would rather not," he muttered.
"Do it anyway," she ordered. "I need to know her mind set."
He let out a long sigh and said, "She's been in a sorta love triangle with this cop named Joe Morelli and Ranger."
"Hmm, really?" She thought it over and asked, "And what does Tasty Cakes have to do with it?"
"Nothing that I know of," he replied, clearly puzzled. "She loves them and can't live without them. Anything else, you'd have to ask the boss about."
They arrived a Haywood thirty minutes later. But as she was occupied looking over the photos, she never noticed until her door opened and she found herself looking at a big guy with a tattoo in the middle of his forehead. She looked at the flaming skull and let out a humming sound.
"Your parents must have wanted to kick your butt for that one," she murmured, making him grin.
"Sure did," he told her. "I'm Cal. Do you need help out?"
"No thank you," she said, getting out and was balancing on her good leg until she got her cane.
"What happened to you?" he asked, as he walked next to her.
"Landmine," she told him, scrapping her short fall of brown nearly black hair out of her light olive skinned face.
"Why were you even near the landmines anyway?" he asked as they walked into the elevator. It was hard for him to believe that this elfish looking woman would be anywhere near a landmine.
"I was helping with clearing them out," she told him. "I was there with Sam." She took a long deep breath. "German Shepard mix. He didn't make it. He protected me with his body. I wouldn't be here if he hadn't."
"I'm sorry to hear about that," he said. "Sounds like a great dog."
"The best." The elevator opened on five and she made her way straight over to Ranger's office, giving a nod to those on the floor that she knew.
She knocked on the door and was given a brisk, "Enter!"
Walking in, seeing Ranger on the phone. Maxine went over and sat down in one of the guest chairs.
"Don't just give me lip service and do it!" He hit the end sensor and looked like he had wanted to throw it. Dropping it to his desk, he looked over to her. "What do you have so far?"
"Questions," she told him. "Tell me about Stephanie Plum."
"What do you want to know?" he asked.
"Tell me about the woman you know," she said. "Tell me about your relationship, tell me about her relationship with Joe the cop, and about your last conversation with her."
His jaw went tight, as he turned away from her. His blank face fell into place, which had her taking her cane and slamming it down onto his desk.
When he looked at her sharply, she snapped, "I didn't come all this way to hit a stone wall. Answer the questions or I'm gone." His eyes narrowed. "Well? Are you going to answer the questions or are you going to get Penski over in Canada?" Ranger rolled his eyes at those words. He couldn't stand Penski and well she knew it.
He took a deep breath and started to talk. But instead of answers to her questions, it was a query of his own. "How's the leg?"
"Gone." He looked at her startled. "They weren't able to fix it and it was only hanging on by one muscle. The rest was mincemeat. There was nothing to be done about it." Maxine pulled up her pant leg and put the prosthetic limb on his desk. "They took it from just midway through the thigh."
"Why are you using a cane?" he asked, as she put it back down.
"Balance mostly," she told him. "Nice diversionary tactics, Ranger." That had his hard lips twisting into an almost grin. "Now answer my questions or you've wasted both of our time."
He sank back in his chair, watching her. "Better from me, right?" This had her nodding. He then went on telling her about the missing woman. "Five-seven, 130 pounds, and all Jersey attitude." He smiled absently, adding, "Steph never judges anything about anyone. I've never met a person like her."
"But?" she pressed.
"She's harder on herself than she ever is on anyone else." His jaw went tight again. "I blame her mom for this." She could have sworn he said, "The bitch" under his breath.
"What's the deal with her and the cop?" she asked.
"They broke up about five months ago. This time for good," he answered. "I knew this time she meant it. I could see it in her face when I asked her about it."
"And where does she stand with you?" she asked.
He only gave her a hard look. "That's none of your business."
"Under normal circumstances, I'd agree with you. But you called me in California in order to find the woman you referred to as your 'Babe' and 'your woman'. You're not one to use those words lightly."
"You don't know me that well."
"Dude, you didn't even call the mother of your daughter that." Standing up, she looked straight at him. "With the last name of Soto you don't think I at least have a bit of a grasp on Spanish?"
"So you were listening in on us," he said casually.
"Nothing to do with your work. Most of that stuff I knew already anyway. No, I listened in on your private conversations. It proved entertaining." She got to the door, saying, "You gossip like teen girls. How could I not think it was funny?"
There was a snort of laughter from him. But this was quickly followed by, "She and I have been together for the past six weeks." She stopped and looked over to him. "In fact that was the last thing that we spoke about."
Maxine looked over to him. "What exactly did you speak of?"
His lips went tight, but he ended up saying, "I told her that we couldn't be anything more than what we are right now."
"Meaning just sex?" she asked to which he nodded.
"So was it a fight or what?"
"It wasn't a fight."
"But?" That had him glaring at her. "Spill."
"It's no wonder that you did so well in the C.I.A.," he muttered.
"With compliments like that I'm sure to be overwhelmed with feeling," she said rather flatly. "And I'll have you know that I get it naturally. I come from a family of nosy people. But you still haven't answered the question."
"It wasn't a fight, but it wasn't not a fight."
"That is as clear as mud," she muttered. "I'm going to see her work station and any areas she spends a lot of time. And before you ask, that would include your place on seven if I must."
He nodded, tossing his key fob over to her. She caught and pocketed it. "Have you spoken to Lester yet?"
"Can't say as I have," she murmured. "Is he in?"
"He should be coming in around fifteen minutes," he told her. "You still have a thing for him?"
She stopped just inside the open door, turning her head slightly. "Do you call what you feel for Stephanie a 'thing'?"
"No," he said, sounding brittle.
"Then do me the same service." Maxine's hard green eyes were nearly pleading with him. "Please."
"Consider it done," he said and watched as she shut the door quietly behind herself.
TBC...
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There you go! That's the first chapter. Let me know what you think. Thanks for reading and I hope you have a nice day.
